Pediatrics

The Children's Center at Saint Francis Medical Center is a state-of-the-art facility that provides compassionate, comprehensive care to pediatric patients (newborn through 17 years of age) suffering from various illnesses and injuries. For more information, visit www.sfmc.net.

MONDAY, July 16, 2018 -- Many children are prescribed powerful opioid painkillers they don't really need, putting them and those around them at risk, a new study shows.

More than one in 10 kids enrolled in Tennessee's Medicaid program received an opioid prescription each year between 1999 and 2014, even though they did not have a severe condition requiring powerful painkillers, the researchers found.

TUESDAY, June 26, 2018 -- More than 2.2 million American children a year -- or about 25 an hour -- were treated in emergency departments for bicycle-related injuries over a 10-year period, a new study finds.

"The good news is that the rate of injury declined over the course of the study. Still, far too many children are being seriously hurt on their bikes," said lead author Lara McKenzie. She's principal investigator at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

THURSDAY, June 7, 2018 -- Parents should choose to have their children get the flu shot in the fall instead of the nasal spray flu vaccine, pediatricians say.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the shot, which is an inactivated flu vaccine, is the more effective option. The nasal spray should only be used as a last resort for kids who would otherwise go unvaccinated against the virus, the experts advised.

"Don't assume children cannot get skin cancer because of their age," said Dr. Alberto Pappo, director of the solid tumor division at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. "Unlike other cancers, the conventional melanoma that we see mostly in adolescents behaves the same as it does in adults."